Kant was born in Königsberg Kingdom of Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia) on April 4, 1724. He died February 12, 1804. Kant was an 18-century German philosopher. During this period in time many people negatively regarded idealism. He was influenced mainly by Berekely and Hume. He influenced many other philosophers, a few are Hegel, Sarte, Kierkegaard, and Karl Marx. Kant's main project, the "Copernican Revolution", was his most original contribution to philosophy. As he put it, it is the representation that makes the object possible rather than the object that makes the representation possible. This introduced the human mind as an active originator of experience rather than just a passive recipient of perception.
Biography
When Kant was just 16 years old he enrolled at the University of Königsberg. There he studied the philosophies of Leibniz, and Wolff under Martin Knutsen, a rationalist who was also familiar with the developments of British philosophy and science, and who introduced Kant to the new mathematical physics of Newton. Later, Kant became a private tutor to earn his living because his father's death halted his university career. In 1755 he continued his studies and obtained his doctorate. For the next 15 years Kant taught at the university lecturing first on science and mathematics but gradually enlarging his field of concentration to cover almost all different types of philosophy. In 1770 he earned his chair at the University as Professor of Logic and Metaphysics. For the next 27 years, he continued to teach and attracted a large numbers of students to Königsberg. Kant's unorthodox religious teachings, which were based on rationalism rather than revelation, brought him into conflict with the government of Prussia, and in 1792 he was forbidden by Frederick William II, King of Prussia, to teach or write on religious subjects. For 5 years he obeyed the King until the king's death. Because of this, he felt released from his obligation and in 1798, the year after his retirement Kant published a summary of his religious views.
Major Works of Immanuel Kant
- Lectures on Ethics (1775-1780)
- Critique of Pure Reason (1781)
- Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics (1783)
- Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785)
- Critique of Practical Reason (1788)
- Critique of Judgment (1790)
- Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793
Philosophy
Kant is known for his theory that there is a single moral obligation, which he called the "Categorical Imperative", which originated from his concept of duty. Kant believed that if an action is not done with the motive of duty, then it is without moral value. He thought that every action should have pure intention behind it; otherwise it was meaningless. He didn't necessarily believe that the final result was the most important aspect of an action, but that how the person felt while carrying out the action was the time at which value was set to the result. Another philosophy of Kant's were the flaws in Empiricism and Rationalism. These two historical movements in the early modern period of philosophy had a significant impact on Kant. Kant argues that both the method and the content of these philosophers' arguments contain serious flaws. Empiricists thought that to acquire knowledge of the world around us we had to use senses, experience, or evidence. Rationalists attempted to use reason, method, or a theory. Kant believed that these two kinds of knowledge were both needed to understand metaphysics and other branches of philosophy.
Quotations
By a lie, a man... annihilates his dignity as a man.
All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason.
In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.
Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law.
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
By Heather D.
Introduction
Kant was born in Königsberg Kingdom of Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia) on April 4, 1724. He died February 12, 1804. Kant was an 18-century German philosopher. During this period in time many people negatively regarded idealism. He was influenced mainly by Berekely and Hume. He influenced many other philosophers, a few are Hegel, Sarte, Kierkegaard, and Karl Marx. Kant's main project, the "Copernican Revolution", was his most original contribution to philosophy. As he put it, it is the representation that makes the object possible rather than the object that makes the representation possible. This introduced the human mind as an active originator of experience rather than just a passive recipient of perception.
Biography
When Kant was just 16 years old he enrolled at the University of Königsberg. There he studied the philosophies of Leibniz, and Wolff under Martin Knutsen, a rationalist who was also familiar with the developments of British philosophy and science, and who introduced Kant to the new mathematical physics of Newton. Later, Kant became a private tutor to earn his living because his father's death halted his university career. In 1755 he continued his studies and obtained his doctorate. For the next 15 years Kant taught at the university lecturing first on science and mathematics but gradually enlarging his field of concentration to cover almost all different types of philosophy. In 1770 he earned his chair at the University as Professor of Logic and Metaphysics. For the next 27 years, he continued to teach and attracted a large numbers of students to Königsberg. Kant's unorthodox religious teachings, which were based on rationalism rather than revelation, brought him into conflict with the government of Prussia, and in 1792 he was forbidden by Frederick William II, King of Prussia, to teach or write on religious subjects. For 5 years he obeyed the King until the king's death. Because of this, he felt released from his obligation and in 1798, the year after his retirement Kant published a summary of his religious views.
Major Works of Immanuel Kant
- Lectures on Ethics (1775-1780)- Critique of Pure Reason (1781)
- Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics (1783)
- Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785)
- Critique of Practical Reason (1788)
- Critique of Judgment (1790)
- Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone (1793
Philosophy
Kant is known for his theory that there is a single moral obligation, which he called the "Categorical Imperative", which originated from his concept of duty. Kant believed that if an action is not done with the motive of duty, then it is without moral value. He thought that every action should have pure intention behind it; otherwise it was meaningless. He didn't necessarily believe that the final result was the most important aspect of an action, but that how the person felt while carrying out the action was the time at which value was set to the result. Another philosophy of Kant's were the flaws in Empiricism and Rationalism. These two historical movements in the early modern period of philosophy had a significant impact on Kant. Kant argues that both the method and the content of these philosophers' arguments contain serious flaws. Empiricists thought that to acquire knowledge of the world around us we had to use senses, experience, or evidence. Rationalists attempted to use reason, method, or a theory. Kant believed that these two kinds of knowledge were both needed to understand metaphysics and other branches of philosophy.Quotations
Bibliography